Visitors
by A Girl Named Ed
Summary: A series of oneshots. Various beings visit Matoro's memorial statue. Find out who they are and why they're there. *COMPLETE*
1. Kopeke: Smile

**Hellooooo...Ed's got more plot bunnies...this isn't good.  
I tried writing a Kopeke/Matoro friendship fic which was slightly a prequel to Father and Son and in which Ehrye wasn't a jerk, but it fell through. I liked the idea, though, so here we are. There are going to be about four or five of these, if I can come up with enough scenarios ;) Each is inspired by a song BUT IS NOT A SONGFIC!  
I know I should be working on Rahi Warrior and Metru Uni but this is basically getting rid of about five plot bunnies in one go. Don't worry, I'll still be posting semi-regularly.  
I'm working on #2 (which is a surprise) and it should be posted by Sunday. Please review, and if you have any ideas for people to visit Matoro, feel free to request one! (Unless I've already done that person, in which case I don't do repeats.)  
*Bionicle belongs to Lego. The song 'Smile' belongs to Charlie Chaplin and...whoever else did it.***

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* * *

**_Smile, though your heart is aching  
Smile, even though it's breaking  
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by_ (Smile, by Charlie Chaplin)

* * *

Kopeke—Smile

A single Ko-Matoran walked down the streets of Ko-Metru. Any other Ko-Matoran could tell you that this Matoran was Kopeke, one of the best ice carvers in the city, with the social skills of a sick Muaka. But they couldn't tell you why his eyes were glassy, why his step was shuffling, or why his head was bowed. No one knew anything about Kopeke besides what everyone knew.

At least, no one except Matoro.

Matoro and Kopeke had been best friends since forever. Matoro was the only one who could understand when Kopeke was being antisocial and when he was feeling shy. He knew when the artist wanted to be left alone without Kopeke saying anything. Kopeke could say three words and Matoro would instantly understand. He was the only one with this precious gift.

And he was dead.

Matoro had left Metru Nui without even a goodbye note with a group of Matoran and Takanuva. Eventually, he'd become a Toa, and had had many grand adventures. But he died using the Kanohi Ignika—the Mask of Life—to revive the universe. Kopeke hadn't even known what had become of his friends until the rest of his team returned and told him their tale. As the new Chronicler, he had to write it on the new Wall of History. He'd been putting it off for so long, people had stopped asking him to do it.

The street that Kopeke was walking down was very well known to him. He walked it every day in his quest to avoid writing Matoro's story. Eventually, he stopped next to one building that had many icicles hanging from its roof. Snapping a large one off, he continued on his way. Few Matoran that passed him spared him a glance, but he didn't care. He was almost at his destination.

There it was: Matoro's memorial statue. Kopeke himself had helped to carve it. It was a perfect likeness of Matoro's Toa Mahri form, at least according to the other Mahri. Kopeke wouldn't know. All he saw was a tall being made of ice that may or may not have been his best friend.

Kopeke came here every day. He was the last Matoran anyone would think of to hold onto an emotion, but Kopeke clung to his sadness. Or maybe his sadness clung to him. He wasn't sure. He just knew that he wanted his friend back.

But today he was not here to simply mourn and make illogical wishes. Today he had a specific task. Not as the Chronicler, not as a sports star—as a carver, and as a friend.

Sitting at the base of the statue, Kopeke ran his hand over the words carved there. They read "Matoro—Toa, hero, friend." It nigh broke his heart to see it every time. Turning so that he was sitting with his back to the statue, Kopeke took out his sculpting tools and set to work on the icicle he'd brought with him. A couple of Matoran passed by, but in the hour that he was there, no one spoke to him. That was fine. Kopeke didn't need anyone to speak to him. The only being he would have liked to have spoken to was dead.

Kopeke found himself humming slightly as he worked. Frowning, he shot a glare at Matoro's statue, as if it was the cause of the sudden urge to make noise. In all the years he'd known Matoro, the translator had never been comfortable with complete silence. It came from being with a Turaga who only spoke in strange bird talk, Kopeke supposed. Sometimes, when he and Matoro would be sitting and reading, or working on something, or doing something that otherwise was quiet, Matoro would start to hum. Then Kopeke would throw a snowball at him and he would stop, only to start up again a few minutes later. It was all Matoro's fault that now Kopeke was humming.

He didn't even realize what he was humming. It took him a few more bars before he remembered that it was a song that Matoro was fond of, about how if you smile things look better and you'll feel whole again. That was ridiculous. One does not smile when one is sad. Kopeke had told Matoro this, and Matoro had just sighed and shaken his head with a smile. "Come on, Kopeke," he'd say. "Not everything has to be logical!"

Sometimes Kopeke wondered if Matoro was actually a Po-Matoran in disguise.

Finally, he finished humming just as he finished his carving. Satisfied, he stood and placed it at the foot of Matoro's statue. It was very small next to the huge memorial, but it would do. Kopeke had carved a miniature statue of Matoro's Matoran form. It was the form that everyone on Metru Nui knew and loved—and it started to fill the void that Matoro had left in Kopeke's heart.

For the first time in a very long time, a small smile managed to work its way onto Kopeke's mask. He looked into the statuette's eyes. "Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you for being my friend." Then he turned and walked away.


	2. Ehrye: All You Wanted

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**Okay, so who saw this one coming? *crickets* It's Ehrye! Holy random, Batman!  
*ahem* So a while ago, I was trying to write a story that was mostly a combination of this and Kopeke's oneshot, but it died slightly, and it was getting too long anyway. So I split them up. And here we are.  
Next will be Nuju, probably, then I think Kopaka, and maybe one or two of the Mahri (or all of them). Again, if you have any requests just PM me or tell me in your review. Either is good.  
Thanks for reading, and please review! Constructive criticism is always appreciated.  
*Disclaimer: Bionicle belongs to Lego, and the song "All You Wanted" belongs to Michelle Branch.***

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_If you want to, I can save you  
I can take you away from here  
So lonely inside, so busy out there  
And all you wanted was somebody who cares._

* * *

Ehrye—All You Wanted

Ehrye glared up at the statue in front of him. It was of Matoro's Mahri form, which he'd never seen in person but apparently it was such a good likeness of him that sometimes Toa Hahli (Toa!) would jump when she saw it, thinking she'd stumbled on a ghost.

Yet another reason for Ehrye to hate Matoro.

The two Matoran had never gotten along. Ehrye thought Matoro was too shy and incompetent, and Matoro thought Ehrye was a jerk.

Ehrye hung his head a little. He _was_ a jerk. He was the biggest jerk Mata Nui had ever seen.

When Matoro had been alive, Ehrye had always been bullying him, bothering him, calling him names—you name it, Ehrye probably did it. He even threw snowballs at his window. He'd eventually had to stop because Toa Kopaka threatened to kick him out of Ko-Koro if he didn't. But no one knew why he'd been so dead set against Matoro.

Jealousy. Pure, straight-up jealously was what drove Ehrye. He wanted what Matoro had: a stable job, a good boss who cared about his feelings, friends who didn't just look at him as a way into the 'in' crowd. He wanted to have people around him who liked him for him and who cared enough to ask how he was every now and then. And for some reason, everyone _adored_ Matoro. They thought it was cute how shy and insecure he was. It drove Ehrye crazy! What happened to 'girls like the bad boys?'

To tell the truth, when he'd heard that Matoro was dead, a small part of him had secretly been happy. It would mean that people might forget about him, he thought. But NO. Mata Nui obviously hated him even more than Matoro did, because now there was a huge _statue_ commemorating him in the middle of his Metru, specifically designed so that no one would _ever_ forget about Matoro until the end of time!

"Mata Nui curse it, Matoro," Ehrye grumbled, "you always knew how to make my life a living Karzhani."

Something caught his eye and he looked to see a small statuette of Matoro's Matoran form next to the statue's foot. He sneered. Kopeke, no doubt. The boring carver probably made it to feel better. Ehrye should smash it, just to spite him!

His hand was raised to do just that when he paused. The statuette's eyes seemed to be looking right at him, saying "Please, don't."

Ehrye was so taken aback that he took an involuntary step backwards. He shook his head. _It's just a dumb statue,_ he thought, but nevertheless he didn't try to strike it again.

Another glance at its eyes and Ehrye could have sworn they were asking him a question. "Why?" they seemed to say. "Why, Ehrye?"

"I don't know!" he yelled at it. "Leave me alone! You stupid, useless Turaga's pet! I hate you! You got everything I wanted, even though I worked really hard!" There were tears in his eyes that were slowly choking his voice, but he ignored them and just kept shouting, unaware of the strange looks he was getting from passing Matoran. He poured everything he'd been keeping back for the past thousand years into it. "Everyone just _loved_ you! You didn't have to do anything, and you had people going, 'Aww, he's so damn sweet!' It drove me crazy! And now you're dead, and there's this dumb statue here and everyone misses you! Well you know something Matoro? Everyone dies someday, and who's gonna mourn me? Huh? Who? Nobody, that's who! Because everyone hates me, but they all think you're the greatest thing since sliced Bula berry!" He broke down, his voice choked with sobs, tears streaming down his mask. "Nobody loves me, everybody hates me…and I hate you!" Falling to his knees, Ehrye buried his face in his hands and sobbed. "Y-you…you got everything…without even trying…all I wanted…was someone to love me…c-care for me…cry if I died…is th-that so much to ask?

"I know I went about it a stupid way…I should've talked to you and been nicer to you…but I wasn't thinking. Jealousy makes you do dumb things. I should've told you how I felt. But I didn't." He hung his head. "I'm the stupid one, Matoro. I'm so, so sorry. I wish you were here. I wish there was a way for you to forgive me." Placing a hand on Matoro's name carved into the statue's base, he whispered, "I wish there was a way for me to forgive myself."

Ehrye felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into the eyes of Turaga Nuju. "T-Turaga," he stuttered, standing. "What—?"

He was cut off by a shake of the head and was suddenly pulled into a hug. The Matoran began sobbing into Nuju's shoulder. "I just...I just wanted..." Nuju made soothing cooing noises and patted his back. He would've said something to comfort the distressed Matoran, but he knew Ehrye wouldn't understand. Finally, Ehrye was all cried out. He thanked Nuju, who nodded and left, continuing on his way. Laying his hand back on Matoro's name, Ehrye whispered, "Thanks, Matoro," and left too, leaving his jealously behind him.


	3. Nuju: Send in the Clowns

**Ed's been busy, apparently...  
So here we are with another Visitors shot. This time around it's Nuju, Matoro's mentor and employer. This actually got rid of two plot bunnies in one shot. :3**  
**Next will probably be Kopaka. Once again, if you have anyone you want to see visit Matoro, just ask.**  
**A side note: I had a hard time with the song for this because I wrote the fic without one in mind. So the song choice this time is kind of random. Also, there are a lot of references to the MNOLG II. Just a fair warning.  
Thanks for reading, and please review! Constructive criticism is always appreciated.  
*Bionicle belongs to Lego and the song 'Send in the Clowns' belongs to Stephen Sodenheim.*

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_Isn't it rich? Don't you approve?  
One who keeps tearing around...  
One who can't move._  
_Send in the clowns...

* * *

_

Nuju-Send in the Clowns

Nuju trudged down the road to the Coliseum. He didn't really feel like going to a meeting today, mostly because no one would understand anything he said anyway. He could get basic messages across, like "Yes" or "No" or "Matau stop flirting with Nokama and pay attention," but it was difficult without Matoro.

Matoro. Nuju cringed slightly. While he knew that Matoro had died to save everyone he cared about, it was still hard on those left behind who missed him. He knew Kopeke was taking it especially hard, and if the little scene he'd walked in on the other day was any indication, Ehrye was too. The Turaga idly wondered if Kopaka, wherever he was, had heard word of what had happened.

Suddenly, there it was: Matoro's memorial statue. Nuju frowned. How did he get here? Must've taken a wrong turn. He'd never thought he'd see the day he'd get lost in his own Metru. Or maybe his feet carried him there of their own free will. That was a rather frightening thought.

Deciding that the others could do without his presence for another few minutes, Nuju walked up to the statue. Next to it was a smaller statue of Matoro's Matoran form. Kopeke, probably. He'd finally gotten to work on the Wall of History, though Nuju had seen him sneak off to see Matoro several times.

Looking up at Matoro, Nuju sighed. That kid had driven him crazy on more than one occasion. There was that one time during the first Huai Snowball Sling tournament ever held...

* * *

_"Matoro, it'll be fine."_

"B-but...there's so many people out there!"

_"Matoro, just calm down."_

Matoro was jiggling nervously in the Turaga's box. Matau, who was there just to bug Nuju, grinned at him. "Don't worry about it," he said. "These guys tend to forgive a lot of dumb mistakes."

Nuju glared at him. _"You shut up."_

"Yeah!" Matoro said defensively, then he remembered that only he knew what Nuju had said. "Uh, I mean, he said to shut up, and I was agreeing, and...oh, this is never going to work. I never should've agreed to this."

_"Well it's too late to back out now,"_ Nuju said, pushing Matoro to the microphone. _"It's easy. Just say exactly what I say. Just like in the meetings. Okay?"_

Gulping, Matoro nodded. "O...okay. Hey, how do I turn this thing on?"

Nuju coughed. _"It...it is on."_

"Oh! Oh, dear." Matoro's embarrassed ramblings echoed across the field, making the participants chuckle quietly (because Ko-Matoran are too dignified to actually laugh out loud). Somewhere out there, a young Ko-Matoran carver buried his face in his hands. This was exactly what Kopeke had been hoping _wouldn't_ happen.

Nuju quickly relayed his first message. "Um, the Turaga says, 'Welcome to the first annual Huai Snowball Sling,'" Matoro translated, quickly regaining everyone's attention. "'We hope you enjoy the game.'" Gradually, Matoro relaxed, getting almost all the way to the end of the speech, which mostly outlined the rules ("'No rocks,'" etc.). Then it happened.

Still nervous, Matoro was shifting about a little. He shifted so much that he was standing on Nuju's foot—and he was heavy for such a lithe Matoran! With a grunt, Nuju leaned up and whispered, _"Matoro, you're standing on my foot."_

Matoro then proceeded to relay this message to the crowd.

His eyes widened. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Turaga!" he apologised, quickly releasing Nuju's foot from captivity beneath his own. "I didn't mean...the mike's still on, isn't it?"

_"Yes. Yes it is."_

Everyone was chuckling again. His mask so red he could easily have been mistaken for a Ta-Matoran, Matoro stammered, "Uh...Unity, Duty, Destiny!" and bolted.

_"Matoro!"_ Nuju called, limping after him as the announcer took over.

He found Matoro outside, behind the stadium, sitting on the ground with his face buried in his hands. When Nuju put a hand on his shoulder, he tensed, then looked up at him. "I'm so sorry, Turaga," he said. "I embarrassed both myself and you...!"

Nuju shook his head. _"There's still time to learn how to be a good public speaker,"_ he told him, helping him up. _"You did fairly well for your first time. And considering that most Ko-Matoran would never do what you did...you were very brave."_

Brightening a little, Matoro smiled. "Thank you, Turaga."

_"Now, what do you say we head back to the game?"_ Nuju asked. Matoro nodded and followed him back into the stadium. Matau wiggled his mask ridges at them, but a glare from Nuju soon stopped that.

* * *

Nuju had mostly forgotten about that. Chuckling to himself, he looked Matoro's statue in the eye. _"You were quite the troublesome brat,"_ he informed it. But he was extremely loyal to his friends, too. There was one time when he'd asked Nuju how to go about setting someone (who turned out to be Macku) up with someone else (who turned out to be Hewkii). It had ended up falling through (mostly due to their ineptness at love), but at least he'd tried and gotten them to admit out loud (though not to each other) that they were in love.

And, of course, there was the time he and Kopeke competed in the Great Kolhii Tournament.

* * *

Matoro stood with Nuju inside Ko-Koro's temple. He looked like a kicked baby Muaka. Nuju looked at him. _"Matoro, are you still upset over losing to Hahli and Macku?"_ he asked. Matoro flinched slightly and Nuju sighed. _"Matoro, I told you, it was prophesised that they would win. There was nothing you could have done."_

"I know that!" Matoro snapped. Nuju jumped. "But...I was hoping...I...well..." He sighed, all the fight going out of him all of a sudden. "I wanted to win it...for Kopeke."

Nuju raised the ridges of his mask. _"For Kopeke?"_

"He loves sports. It's all he's been talking about for weeks."

_"Wait, back up a second. Kopeke __talks__?"_

"It's not that rare," Matoro said, but a little chuckle did manage to escape. "But Kopeke...he...well, this meant a lot to him. I know it was Mata Nui's will that Hahli make it to the tournament, for whatever reason, but I was hoping that...if I played well enough, I might change his mind."

Nuju shook his head with a wry smile. Matoro had odd thoughts sometimes, but that took the cake.

"And now Kopeke's really upset," Matoro finished with a sigh. "He was so hoping for a Copper Mask of Victory from the tournament. He's never won one for kolhii before, you know."

Nuju patted Matoro on the shoulder. _"It's okay, Matoro. There will be other kolhii matches."_ Matoro didn't look convinced. _"How about this, then. When we're done here, we get Kopeke and stop by Falta's for some Bula cider to celebrate."_

Matoro blinked up at him. "Celebrate what? We lost?"

_"No, never lost. Only came in second."_

Slowly, Nuju's way of thinking dawned on Matoro, and a smile spread across his face. He nodded. "I'd like that," he said. "And it would cheer Kopeke up, too."

* * *

Nuju never did find out if it cheered Kopeke up or not. The Matoran was harder to read than Ihu sometimes. But Matoro had assured him that he was secretly very pleased.

That was another thing about Matoro. He could tell things about people—sometimes things they didn't even know about themselves. He was a bright kid, if a bit of a brat sometimes.

"Nuju!"

Looking up, Nuju saw Vakama walking towards him, shivering slightly. "Here you are," he said kindly. He looked up at Matoro. "Visiting Matoro, eh?" Nuju nodded. Vakama sighed. "He was a brave Matoran, wasn't he?" Nuju nodded again and Vakama sighed again. "Well, we shouldn't keep the others waiting too much longer. I haven't been there myself yet—I figured you'd be here." Nuju gave a wry smile—Vakama knew him too well. With another glance up at Matoro's statue, he followed behind Vakama.

_"Matoro,"_ he called behind him, purely out of habit. _"It's time for the meeting."_ Then something strange happened. He almost thought he heard a familiar young voice call, "I'm coming, Turaga!" But when he looked, there was nothing there.


	4. Kopaka: Grow Up So Fast

**Wow, I'm on a roll with these! This is, I think, the second-last one. Next will be Hahli and Jaller (at the same time).  
I kind of like Kopaka and Matoro with a big-brother-little-brother relationship. Now I want to use it more...  
To see what I'm referencing as to Dume's speech, look up "Bionicle in under 2 minutes" on YouTube. Funniest video ever.  
This is back to being serious and gloom. Enjoy!  
Thanks for reading, and please review! Constructive criticism is always appreciated.  
*Bionicle belongs to Lego, and the song "Grow Up So Fast" belongs to Chantal Kreviazuk.***

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_Why'd I have to grow up so fast?  
I just want to stay here and laugh  
Oh we only...  
Oh we only blow away..._

* * *

Kopaka—Grow Up So Fast

He had time. He always had time. If there was one thing that Kopaka Nuva was, it was organised. He always organised himself so he had enough time to do whatever it was he needed to do with time to spare.

So he decided to use that spare time to visit someone.

Kopaka had only ever seen Matoro in his Inika form once, and never in his Mahri form, so he was kind of shocked to see what the Ignika had done to the former translator. His eyes...they were huge! And were those...breathing tubes? _I thought they could breathe underwater,_ Kopaka thought, a slight frown on his mask. _Why breathing tubes?_

He shook his head. This was not the Matoro he remembered. The Matoro he knew was the one who was hiding behind a rock when Kopaka first arrived on Mata Nui, scared out of his wits because he didn't know who or what this tall, powerful stranger was. The Matoro Kopaka knew was shy and a little insecure. The Matoro he'd grown to love like a little brother was smart and kind and...and...

And dead.

Kopaka let out a sigh, the sigh of one experiencing heartbreak for the first time. Sure, Matoro was thousands of years old, and technically probably older than he was, but he'd always been a bit of a kid. Okay, a lot of a kid. Okay, he was a really old kid. Whatever. But he'd been forced to grow up quickly. Thrust into an adventure...partially because of Kopaka...and he'd died. Not just once. Twice. Granted, he got better the first time, but then he'd had to go through it again. That was a fate Kopaka wouldn't wish on his worst enemy.

Okay, maybe on Teridax. But that was beside the point.

Poor Matoro. He'd gone from being very happy being Turaga Nuju's aide to being a Toa, a destiny he'd never expressed any desire for. In fact, Kopaka remembered a conversation in which he vehemently denied any secret wish to be a Toa.

"I'm just happy being the way I am," he told Kopaka. "Besides, surely the Great Spirit could pick someone with better qualifications."

What Kopaka hadn't said then—and what he was desperately wishing he could go back and say now—was that the Great Spirit couldn't find anyone, anywhere, with better qualifications than Matoro. It was like he'd said to Takua once. "It's what you do that makes you a hero."

Matoro was smart, kind, good at keeping secrets, a fair athlete, loyal, and respectful. He hunted, yes, but he was good enough to know that you only hunt what you need and you use everything. He was friendly—a little more so than most Ko-Matoran—and a little easily embarrassed. In short, he was...well, a little like Pohatu, actually. Maybe that was why Kopaka had always had a soft spot for the Matoran; he reminded him of his best friend.

But when he'd met Matoro for the last time, as an Inika, he was different. Not just in the way he looked, although the change there was also drastic, but in the way he acted. He didn't remind Kopaka of a child anymore. He was all grown up. And as illogical as it was, it made Kopaka a little sad. Now Matoro couldn't be his 'little brother' anymore.

When Kopaka had heard of Matoro's death from the Av-Matoran in Karda Nui, he hadn't said anything. But at the first opportunity, he went to a secluded area and allowed himself to mourn quietly.

Now, in front of Matoro's statue, he allowed himself another moment of silence for Matoro's sacrifice. Soon, though, his free time was almost over. He had to go to the Coliseum to hear Dume give a speech (which could be summed up by "Good job," but whatever made the old coot happy). He placed a hand on his heartlight and looked up at the statue. Then he balled his hand into a fist and gently clinked it against Matoro's in a Toa salute.

There was something in Kopaka's eye. That was why a tear slipped down his mask as he walked away from the brother he'd never had.


	5. Hahli and Jaller: Candle on the Water

**Ed's got a new wireless mouse and she loves it... :D  
*ahem* So anyway, you may be wondering why I'm posting the next Visitors and not the next Metru Uni. Well, when I went home this weekend, I accidentally forgot the memory stick that has both MU and Rahi Warrior on it. So unless PurpleBanana86 emails it to me, no Metru Uni this week. Sorry guys.  
Moving on, originally this was just Hahli, but then I took another look at the song, and I was like "OMG Jaller!" so here we are. Next will be the rest of the Mahri (mostly focussing on Kongu).  
Until next time, thanks for reading, and please review! Constructive criticism is always appreciated.  
*Disclaimer: Bionicle belongs to Lego, and the song 'Candle on the Water' belongs to...Disney and whoever actually wrote it. :S***

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_A cold and friendless time has found you  
__Don't let the stormy darkness pull you down  
__I'll paint a ray of hope around you  
__Circling in the air, like a bi-plane..._

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Hahli and Jaller: Candle on the Water

It was late at night when Hahli Mahri slipped from her home in Ga-Metru to walk across the city to see her brother.

Her brother was in Ko-Metru, waiting for her. They did this every night: met up in Ko-Metru, talked quietly, then stood in silence next to—

"Hahli!"

The stage whisper carried easily through Ko-Metru's cold air, and Hahli easily recognised her brother Jaller's voice. Turning, she saw him jogging towards her, shivering. He wasn't used to Ko-Metru's cold temperatures yet. "Hi," she whispered back when he got closer. "How's it going?"

He shrugged. "Not bad. I guess. Aside from, you know, the usual worry about the Toa Nuva."

She nodded; they still hadn't returned and it was worrying everyone. "Same. Shall we?"

He smiled, took her hand, and led the way.

There he was: Matoro. The stars reflected off his ice sculpture, making it look like he was glowing. None of the Mahri really knew what had happened to Matoro when he'd died, but for some reason, this seemed close. The two Mahri stood, hand in hand, and looked silently up at him. They never wanted to forget their friend. So every night, they came here. Even if they were exhausted from the day's work, they would still make the time to come out.

Tonight, Jaller knelt in front of the statue. "Hey, look at this."

Hahli knelt as well, and saw a tiny statuette of Matoro's Matoran form. She smiled. "Kopeke."

Silently, Jaller traced his finger over the carving on the base. "I...I felt like I had to protect him," he finally said quietly. Hahli looked at him, and he sighed. "I just...well, it's not like he was the 'weak link' on the team or anything, but...he didn't have much fighting experience, so I wanted to protect him."

A smile crossed her mask as she put a hand on his shoulder. "You wanted to protect all of us, Jaller. It's in your nature."

"But I couldn't," he protested. "I couldn't, and he..." He bit his lip; he still couldn't say it.

"I know." She stood up and looked up into Matoro's eyes. "But it's not your fault. Matoro knew that. It wasn't anyone's fault—well, except Makuta's, for starting this whole mess. But Matoro wasn't the type to place blame. He would never get swallowed by the darkness, no matter how much it surrounded him. Matoro was...he was..." She swallowed the sudden lump that had formed in her throat.

Jaller stood up and placed his arms around her shoulders. Now it was his turn to say, "I know."

They stood like that for a long time, just looking up at their fallen brother. But finally, they really did need to leave, or they would be missed. Reluctantly, they tapped his fists with their own and parted. His eyes seemed to sparkle in the starlight and watch them go—his brother and sister. His candle on the water.


	6. Toa Mahri: That's What Friends Are For

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**Finally, I'm posting another Visitors shot! Gah, how long was it since the last one? This has actually been done for a while, I'm just lazy. ^^;  
So Kongu, Nuparu, and Hewkii this time, mostly focussing on Kongu because there's not enough Kongu love. (No, I'm serious here.)  
I'm actually trying to find a way to do a Mata Nui one, and there was a request by mazula to do something involving Teridax. Plus I want to do something involving Matoro himself. So there will probably be at least three more.  
Short A/N is short. (For that matter, short shot is short. Say that five times fast.) Thanks for reading, and please review! Constructive criticism is always appreciated.  
*Bionicle belongs to Lego, and the song "That's What Friends are For" belongs to...uh, Disney.***

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_We're your friends!  
We're your friends!  
We're your friends to the bitter end!  
(The bitter end!)_

__

_

* * *

_

Kongu wasn't the most emotional guy. It wasn't like he was totally uncaring and emotionless like Toa Kopaka or anything, but he never did much in the crying department. Nuparu didn't cry much either, but that was mostly because he'd never really had much reason to. Same with Hewkii.

That didn't stop them from practically bawling during Matoro's memorial ceremony. Kongu eventually had to leave for a moment to compose himself. He was a mess. This was ridiculous! Toa didn't cry!

He muttered this to Hewkii, who elbowed him. "They do when one of their closest friends dies," he growled. With a sigh, Kongu nodded. He just couldn't wait for the ceremony to be over.

Finally, finally, it was done, and Kongu slipped out. There was somewhere he wanted to go.

After a little while, he was joined by Nuparu. He didn't say anything, just fell into step next to his brother. Hewkii joined them too. They didn't need to speak to know where they were going. They just knew.

When they got there, they stood and looked up. There it was: Matoro's memorial statue. Kongu wasn't sure why they were all there—apparently they liked to torture themselves via tears. Sure, he'd died to save everyone else, but they'd still lost a brother and a dear friend. It hurt. A lot.

A quiet noise alerted them that they weren't alone. Hahli and Jaller joined the trio, looking silently up at Matoro. After a moment, Hahli put a hand on Kongu's shoulder.

"It's okay to cry, you know," she said quietly.

He shook his head. "Nah. Matoro-brother wouldn't want me to."

Nuparu wiped a few tears out of his own eyes. "Didn't stop me," he joked with a wry smile.

Hewkii shrugged. "Besides, what're friends for?"

Kongu still didn't say anything. But he did stay long after everyone had left. Only then did he let the tears out. They were for Matoro's eyes only. Hewkii was right. What are friends for? For caring. And sometimes, caring means crying.


	7. Mata Nui: Bring Him Home

****

**It's been a while since I posted one of these. Mostly because I was stuck. Well, um...yeah. I have no idea where this came from; apparently my plot bunnies are breeding and this is the child of my Matoro bunny and my what-the-hell bunny...  
I love Mata Nui, just because he's voiced by Worf. XD I'm such a nerd.  
In my opinion, this isn't as good as some of the other ones (Kopeke's is my favourite), but it'll do.  
Thanks for reading, and please review! Constructive criticism is always highly appreciated.  
*Bionicle belongs to Lego, and the song "Bring Him Home" belongs to Claude-Michel Shonberg and Alain Boublil.***

* * *

__

_Bring him peace  
Bring him joy  
He is young  
He is only a boy..._

* * *

Mata Nui—Bring Him Home

"Hey, Mata Nui, you okay?"

The former Great Spirit looked at the one who had spoken to him. It was his Glatorian friend, Ackar. "Yes, I'm fine," he said. "Just...thinking."

"What about?" Ackar asked, walking over and sitting next to his friend.

"Well...I was unconscious for a very long time," Mata Nui explained. "And I don't exactly know what was going on during that time. The thing is, I...I feel like something big happened. But I don't know what it was."

"Why don't you ask your mask?" Ackar half-joked, indicating the Mask of Life that Mata Nui wore on his face. "From what you said, it's kind of...sentient, right?"

"I don't think it works quite in that way, but I suppose it's worth a shot." There was some clicking, and he looked down at his Scarabax partner, Click. "What? I think it's a good idea. The worst that can happen is I look silly." Click gave the beetle equivalent of an eye roll and clicked once, annoyed that Mata Nui wasn't taking him seriously.

Ignoring Click, Mata Nui closed his eyes. He wasn't sure exactly how to tap into the mask's power or 'memories,' but luckily it seemed to know what he wanted. Images and memories flashed through his mind so quickly and so forcefully that he staggered back a little.

"Mata Nui!" Ackar yelped, leaping forward in case his friend fell. But Mata Nui waved him off—he was fine. The images weren't coming in a flood now, it was more controlled chaos.

"Wait," he murmured as one went by. "That one—the Ice Toa. He's important..."

"What Ice Toa?" Ackar asked. "What do you see?"

Mata Nui either didn't hear the question or he ignored it. He was watching the memory of a Toa of Ice, whose name he knew through the power of the Ignika was Matoro, falling down a waterfall, holding a very familiar mask.

"The Ignika?" he muttered. "Wait...then that means..."

Ackar, fed up with being ignored, grabbed the former Great Spirit by the shoulders and started shaking him. "Mata Nui, what's going on?"

That snapped him out of it. "There was...there was a boy..."

"You need to sit down," Ackar informed him. No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Mata Nui plunked himself down on the sand. "Not here!"

"No, Ackar, listen. While I was asleep, I...I died." The Glatorian stared at him. "From what I gathered, the Matoran who were supposed to work in Metru Nui weren't working, and if they don't, my body would start to shut down. And if that happened, then the Mask of Life would have to be used to resurrect me." Ackar nodded. "A young Matoran named Matoro, who had only just become a Toa, put on the Mask of Life to do just that, and...it used his life to restore my own."

There was a shocked silence from both Click and Ackar. Mata Nui gazed absently at a point on the ground in front of him. "I took the life of another to live," he said quietly.

"Hey, you can't blame yourself," Ackar protested. Click clicked his agreement.

"But it still happened." He shook his head. _I'm sorry...Matoro, was it? I'm sorry that you had to suffer that way._ "He was just a boy," he said aloud. "So young..."

"Uh, Mata Nui, everyone's young to you. And it's not your fault."

"I know, I know! But he was so young, and he had people who cared about him, and to rip him away from them and take his life seems so wrong. He'd just gotten his powers, too. He didn't really have any chance to come into his own yet."

There was another moment of silence. Then Mata Nui stood up. "In Metru Nui, there's a statue commemorating him. Someday, if it's possible, I'd like to visit it. Until then..." He tapped the mask he wore. "I'd like to think he's in here."

Ackar smiled. Who'd think that someone who'd had as much power as Mata Nui had would be so sentimental and emotional? "We'd better be getting back," he told him. Mata Nui followed, Click at his usual place on his shoulder.

_I won't let your sacrifice be in vain, Matoro,_ he silently promised. _I __will __defeat Teridax, and I will __free your friends. I'll bring you home, Matoro. I promise._


	8. Makuta Teridax: Don't Fear the Reaper

****

**First of all, I'd like to apologise for the overall creepiness and dark overtones of this shot, but it's Teridax. What did you expect? (I have issues writing this guy. Apologies. But this was requested by mazula on deviantART, so blame her. =3)****  
It's snowing where I am now, so my twisted brain decided that this was Matoro's revenge for not writing about him lately, so I finally finished this. Now it should stop snowing, right? RIGHT?**  
***ahem* Anyway, next will be Matoro himself, as also requested by mazu, and then that might be it, as I seem to have finally run out of plot bunnies...except for this one that looks suspiciously like Takanuva...  
Thanks for reading, and please review! Constructive criticism is always highly appreciated.  
*Bionicle belongs to Lego, and the song "Don't Fear the Reaper" belongs to the Blue Oyster Cult.***

* * *

_Seasons don't fear the Reaper  
Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain  
(We can be like they are...)_

* * *

Teridax—(Don't Fear) the Reaper

It had worked. He could scarcely believe it. The Plan had worked. Makuta Teridax was in control now.

Not only that, but he'd effectively gotten rid of the Makuta most likely to rise up against him. All in all, he was very happy with the way things had turned out.

And yet...something was bothering him, nagging away at the back of his mind. What was it? Every time he tried to figure out what it was, it danced away, just out of reach. And when he'd give up and do his best to ignore the feeling, it would come back in full force.

It wasn't until several weeks into his reign that he finally figured it out. _That Mahri boy...Matoro. He died, didn't he?_

It wasn't quite sadness he felt. Makuta don't feel sadness. But if it wasn't sadness, what was it? It certainly wasn't happiness, that was for sure.

Not annoyance...it was slightly stronger than that. He figured it was a rather passive emotion, with no real name. It was an "oh, I see, he's dead," not really a "how could this have happened?" or a "woo-hoo!" or anything like that. And yet there was still some niggling emotion bothering him.

Guilt? Maybe. He had basically made Matoro's sacrifice be in vain and all, but he'd never really particularly cared for the Toa, even as a Matoran. He was too quiet. Teridax liked feisty Matoran—it was much more fun to break them. But feeling guilt was ridiculous—he was a Makuta, and Makuta just don't understand the concept of guilt, let alone feel it.

Perhaps it was something to do with the fact that he'd actually come to like Matoro, if even just a little. He'd had a lot of potential, if only he hadn't insisted on being such a goody-goody Toa all the time. Teridax relished the memory of pushing him so far that he'd actually tried to kill a sentient being. It was proof that Toa could, in fact, be corrupted, turned.

Well, whatever it was, it was annoying. Besides, it wasn't as though Matoro hadn't accepted his death. From what he'd heard, he was quite content with his decision in the other realm, even though he'd ultimately allowed Teridax's plan to succeed. He did not fear death. As long as there was still some shred of hope that his friends were or would be safe, he would sacrifice himself again and again. And Teridax couldn't help but admire that. Matoro, saviour of the universe, sneers in the face of death!

…

No, that wasn't quite right.

He hadn't wanted to die. Who did, really? But despite that, he had the courage to make the sacrifice, to take the Reaper's hand and go.

He'd been a good kid. A little too good for Teridax's tastes, but a good kid no less. It really was too bad that he was dead. Teridax could've had so much more fun with him.


	9. Takanuva: Put on a Happy Face

****

**Yay, another Visitors! /bricked  
Somehow I've gotten yet another plot bunny. This time it's Takanuva. I associate this song with him a lot (dammit my Broadway obsession is showing again).  
Next will be Matoro for mazula, the rest of the Turaga for Zelda12343, and Pewku for a nameless anonymous reviewer. (That last one's going to be tricky. :/)  
Thanks for reading, and please review! Constructive criticism is always highly appreciated.  
*Bionicle belongs to Lego, and the song "Put on a Happy Face" belongs to...uh, the guys who wrote Bye Bye Birdie. :/***

* * *

_Grey skies are going to clear up  
Put on a happy face  
Brush off the clouds and cheer up  
Put on a happy face  
Take off that gloomy mask of tragedy  
It's not your style..._

* * *

Takanuva—Put on a Happy Face

Takanuva looked around. He didn't know Ko-Metru very well, in fact he hardly knew Metru Nui very well, but he was determined to find it.

When he'd heard that Mata Nui was alive, he was overjoyed. The universe wouldn't end, and life could continue as normal once the Toa Nuva finally awakened the Great Spirit. There was no doubt in his mind that they would accomplish their task; it was their destiny, after all.

But then he'd heard about what had happened to Matoro, and his heartlight all but stopped flashing. His mind was filled with a thousand 'if only's. _If only I could've gone with them...if only I'd been stronger...if only we hadn't had to leave Metru Nui a thousand years ago..._

But in Takanuva's experience, if onlys never solved anything. They just made you feel worse. So he tried to grin and bear it—but it was such a heavy burden to bear.

He'd left Metru Nui to help the Toa Nuva in Karda Nui before Matoro's memorial statue had been built, so he'd never seen it. But no matter what the statue looked like, to Takanuva Matoro would always be the Akaku-wearing Matoran next to Nuju in Ko-Koro's temple, the one who had saved him when he was lost in the storms of Ko-Wahi, the amateur kolhii player who tried to change destiny for his friends, the one who made people wonder if all Ko-Matoran were stuffy and uptight.

Now that he was back in Metru Nui, with Mata Nui awakened and life back to normal, Takanuva felt that he _had_ to go see Matoro's memorial before he did anything else. Matoro was his friend, and he'd been devastated to hear that he'd died, even if it meant everyone else could live. Survivor's guilt? Maybe. He didn't know, or care. He just knew he was doing what any sane being would: mourning a friend.

Finally, he found the statue. It was right in the middle of the Metru, near Nuju's old Knowledge Tower. It was huge, easily as tall as Matoro would've been as a Toa. Takanuva had only seen Matoro's Mahri form in the Kingdom of the Great Spirit, so seeing this being immortalized in ice was, well, shocking. Was this what he'd looked like when he'd died? Was this how he was to be remembered? As the Toa who'd saved the universe, not the Matoran that you couldn't help but love?

Well...either way, it meant he would be remembered throughout eternity. And Kopeke would carve his story into the wall of history, making sure that Matoro's legacy would never be forgotten. Takanuva smiled. Matoro would be content with that, so the Toa of Light would be too.

Another set of footsteps crunching through the snow alerted him to another's presence. Turning, he saw his old friend Kopeke. Kopeke nodded at Takanuva, who smiled down at him. "Here to visit Matoro before Dume's ceremony?" he asked.

Kopeke nodded silently. Reaching out, he picked something off the base of the statue and held it up to Takanuva. Taking it, he realised that it was a miniature statuette of Matoro's Matoran form. "Did you carve this?" he asked Kopeke, who nodded again. "It's amazing." He handed it back to Kopeke, who placed it back on the statue's base. "Kopeke, do you mind if I say a few words to Matoro?" The newest Chronicler shook his head, turning to go. "No, no, stay. I'd like you to be here too—we're all friends here, right?" A small smile flashed across Kopeke's mask as he nodded.

Takanuva looked up at Matoro. "Well, Matoro, here we are. The Toa Nuva saved the universe. But they couldn't have done it without your sacrifice. I hope you know that, wherever you are. And wherever you are, I hope you're happy, too. You deserve happiness, after everything you went through in life." He glanced down and saw that Kopeke's head was bowed, as though he was praying. Kneeling, he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Kopeke, it's okay. I know you loved Matoro like a brother—everyone did." He could feel his eyes getting wet and mentally scolded himself. Matoro wouldn't want him or anyone else to cry over something he did willingly! "Matoro was a kind, good, caring being. We didn't just lose a friend—we lost one of the greatest beings ever created." Kopeke turned to Takanuva, unshed tears in his eyes. "Curse it," Takanuva grumbled, pulling his friend into a hug. "Sometimes you just can't hide it, can you?" He could feel something wet on his chest as Kopeke shook his head. "Sorry, Matoro, but we can't pretend we're okay with your death," he told the statue. "We love you. We care about you. We wish it didn't have to be this way, but it is. What would you do, Matoro? You'd grieve, wouldn't you? You wouldn't pretend to be okay. We know you. You would've tried to pretend, but those who were fortunate enough to know the real you would've noticed, and reached out." Kopeke clung tighter. "We have to go now, Matoro," Takanuva said, "but we'll come back and visit. We promise. We'll visit every day if you want us to." Kopeke nodded vigorously and Takanuva stood up, picking Kopeke up as well.

"See you," he told the statue, refusing to say goodbye.

As he walked away, Kopeke struggling to be let down—upset or not, it was _embarrassing_ for a Ko-Matoran to be carried or have affection shown to them—he reflected. When he'd met Matoro in the Kingdom of the Great Spirit, Matoro had been alive in body but dead in spirit. Here, in the Metru Nui he knew and loved, it was just the opposite. Matoro's body was dead and gone, but his spirit would survive forever, as long as there were people who remembered him. And that alone was enough reason to smile.


	10. Matoro: Healing Waters

**Woot, more Visitors! This was requested a while ago by mazula, but I'd already wanted to do something involving this type of thing, so it just gave me an excuse. :)  
There will be 3 more after this: the other Turaga, Pewku (finally found out who that reviewer was, it was Heart of Zero) and a really cool idea submitted by InTheLight1396. I won't go into the details, but I really like the idea, and it's a good way to wrap it up.  
Yes, Visitors will be ending soon. I need to drop at least one thing right now and this is the logical choice. Plus I'm pretty much out of plot bunnies for this and I have other stuff to work on (cough Rahi Warrior cough). So requests for this are CLOSED. Permanently. Thanks for your understanding.  
Thanks for reading, and please review! Constructive criticism is always highly appreciated.  
*Bionicle belongs to Lego, and the song "Healing Waters" belongs to Lawrence Gowan. Canadian artists FTW!***

* * *

_Though you rest alone in silence  
__We know you'll rise again  
Lifted by the ones you touched  
Who remain..._

* * *

Matoro—Healing Waters

Matoro blinked and looked around. _Okay, this is weird. Why aren't I dead? This doesn't make any sense. I should be dead! I put on the Mask of Life and revived Mata Nui, right? So why am I...wherever I am? Where am I?_

Another look around revealed that he was at the Coliseum on Metru Nui, sitting in the Turaga's box, next to—

"Nuju!" he cried, leaping over to give his mentor a hug. But he passed right through him. "Wha...?" he whispered, dismayed and bewildered. He looked back at Nuju, who hadn't even noticed his assistant screaming his name and attacking him. _Of course not,_ Matoro thought. _I'm dead. I must be a ghost. Ugh, where's a Mask of Detection when you need one?_

He looked over the edge of the box to see what was going on. Matoran filled the stands, and most were quiet and sombre. Matoro frowned and looked up. Yes, the stars were still there, meaning that Mata Nui was once again alive and well (asleep, but alive). Shouldn't they be rejoicing?

_Then again, I have no idea how long I've been dead,_ he reminded himself. _It could've been weeks, and something bad could've happened during that time._

"Matoran of Metru Nui."

Matoro jumped at the sound of Turaga Dume's voice right next to him. Dume could easily have been the ghost instead of Matoro—he hadn't even heard him come in!

Dume continued to speak in his deep, sombre voice. "Today has been a day for rejoicing—and mourning. For while the Great Spirit lives, we have lost one of our nobler souls in the struggle to keep him alive. Today, we mourn..." He paused, and at first Matoro thought it was for dramatic effect. Then he saw that he was trying to compose himself. "We mourn Matoro," he finished.

Then it hit Matoro. _Oh, Great Spirit—I'm at my own funeral?_

Another glance around confirmed it. There were the other Mahri—_so they did make it,_ he thought, relieved—standing to one side, each of them looking like they were about to cry. Hahli was crying, Jaller holding her while he struggled to keep the tears out of his own eyes. Nuju's head was bowed, his hands folded in his lap, while Vakama patted his back reassuringly. Out in the crowd, amongst the Ko-Matoran, Matoro could see both Kopeke and Ehrye. Kopeke looked straight-faced as usual, but Ehrye seemed like he wasn't sure what to feel. Matoro didn't blame him; he probably would feel the same way.

Dume continued to speak, but Matoro wasn't listening anymore. Slightly hesitantly, he hopped over the side of the box. He'd half-expected to plummet to the ground, but being made of strictly protoplasm now, he floated. He was glad he'd been able to get flying practice with the Iden as an Inika, since now he simply flew over to where the Mahri were with no problems.

"Guys, it's me," he said. "I know you can't hear or see me, but I'm here! I just want to say that it's okay. You don't have to be sad; I did what I did willingly. It's okay, really!" He sighed; it was obvious none of this was getting through to them. Kongu suddenly turned and left. Frowning, Matoro followed. Then he found something he'd never expected.

Kongu was leaning against a wall, one hand over his mouth to stop himself from sobbing as tears poured down his mask. Needless to say, Matoro was shocked. Kongu had always been the goofball, the prankster! Matoro had never seen him cry before.

Leaving Kongu before he started to cry, too, Matoro headed out to the crowd. There was Kopeke, who, like Matoro, wasn't really paying attention to Dume. He had his head bowed, and was turning something over in his hands. Squinting, Matoro recognised it as the Chronicler's badge. _Of course. Hahli's a Toa now, so they'd need a new Chronicler._ A brief smile crossed his mask as he remembered what Hahli had said to him when they were together for the last time. "Maybe a Ko-Matoran, just to be different." From the look on Kopeke's face, he was having mixed emotions about the whole thing. Matoro went to pat his shoulder comfortingly, like he always did, but unsurprisingly his hand just passed through.

Matoro sighed. What was he doing here? Had he come back just to watch people be sad over him? What was the point of that? And how had he gotten here in the first place?

"That was me."

The former Ice Toa yelped and jumped a good three feet in the air at the sound of a voice behind him. Whirling, he saw the Ignika floating behind him, at mask level.

"What do you mean, 'that was me'?" he asked suspiciously.

"Not everyone gets to see what an impact he has on the lives of others." Matoro got the impression that if the Ignika could, it would have been smiling. "I've decided I like you, so I wanted to let you see for yourself."

Matoro turned back to the crowd. "But...they're all so sad. I don't want that."

The mask shifted, and if it had had a body, Matoro thought it would've shrugged. "They just lost a dear friend. What do you want them to do? Completely ignore your sacrifice?"

"No, but it'd be nice if they actually realised that I wanted to go, if it meant they'd live. This is...it's messed up."

The Ignika gave that invisible shrug again. "It's the way it is. Are you ready to go? My power can't keep you here much longer, you know; you're going to have to move on eventually."

"Just a second." Rising to the centre of the arena, he shouted, "Hey! Listen to me! I died willingly, okay? I don't mind if it means the rest of you are safe! I love you all...even those I don't particularly like." Ehrye came to mind with that particular statement. Brushing that off, he flew over to Nuju. "You especially, Turaga Nuju," he said shyly. "You've been like a father to me all these years. Thank you. And...we'll see each other again eventually, right? Goodbyes are never forever. Please remember that.

"I'm glad I was able to touch so many lives," he said to the crowd. "Jaller, thank you for having me come along on your little rescue mission. Kopeke, thanks for always being there for me. Ehrye...ugh, thanks for bringing just that much more conflict into my life!" He laughed, then turned to the Ignika, which had followed him. "Okay. Now I think I'm ready to go." With one last look at Nuju, he started to fade. For a brief moment, it seemed like Nuju was looking at him. He waved, just in case.

"Goodbye," Matoro whispered, and then everything went white...


	11. The Turaga of Mata Nui: Memory

**This was requested by Zelda12343, and I'll admit that at first I was a little wary of the concept and how to approach it. Then I remembered: Matoro would've spent a lot of time with the other Turaga! Duh, Ed!  
So yeah, finished this. :) I won't be posting anything for a while due to limited Internet access, sadly. I'll still be writing, though.  
Requests for this are CLOSED; there will be two more after this and then it's done.  
Thanks for reading, and please review! Constructive criticism is always highly appreciated.  
*Bionicle belongs to Lego, and the song "Memory" belongs to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn.***

* * *

_Memory, all alone in the moonlight,  
I can smile at the old days...  
I was beautiful then.  
I remember a time I knew what happiness was...  
Let the memory live again._

* * *

The Turaga of Mata Nui—Memory

Turaga Vakama was lost.

He rarely got lost, but it was hardly his fault that he didn't know the layout of Ko-Metru very well. After all, he'd never had much reason to go there as a Matoran, and now, 1000 years later, he still only went there when he wanted to talk to Nuju.

That was what he was _trying_ to do—talk to Nuju. The bird-speaking Turaga hadn't shown up to the past couple of meetings, and Vakama was determined to find out why. He had a hunch, but he'd rather hear it from Nuju himself.

That would be slightly difficult without Matoro, he realised. He could understand some bits and pieces of what Nuju was saying—a thousand years of his brother point-blank refusing to speak Matoran will do that to you—but if Nuju said anything with more than two syllables, Vakama was in trouble.

He stopped and looked around. _That's odd...if I turned right there, and left there, then I should be at Nuju's, right? What am I doing here?_

The Turaga was standing in front of the memorial statue to Matoro in the middle of Ko-Metru. Standing in front of it was a very familiar blue figure.

"Sister," he called out, approaching her.

Nokama turned and smiled. "Hello, Vakama," she said quietly. Ko-Metru had an air about it that made you subconsciously lower your voice—unless you were Matau. "What brings you here?"

Unwilling to admit he was lost, Vakama said, "I'm just on my way to Nuju's. I want to talk to him."

She raised a mask ridge, smirking. "You realise it's nowhere near here, right?"

Vakama shrugged and didn't say anything. He looked up at the statue. "Hard to believe this was what he looked like, isn't it?" he finally asked.

She looked up at it as well. "Yes," she answered. "I'm so used to him as the shy Matoran never leaving Nuju's side. Seeing him like this is...well, shocking, to say the least."

"Vakama! Nokama! Fancy meeting you here!"

No matter how quietly he talked, Whenua's deep voice always sounded loud, especially in Ko-Metru's cold air. Beside him walked Onewa, who simply smiled slightly and gave a little wave.

"Hello, Brothers," Nokama greeted them as they reached them. "What brings you to Ko-Metru? Onewa, you should be in bed."

Onewa scowled. He'd recently wrenched his back trying to fix a leak in his roof and had been ordered to bed by an annoyed Nokama. "I'm fine, Nokama," he told her. "I just wanted to see Matoro's staue—it just dawned on me that I'd never seen it."

"I'm here to escort him," Whenua said. "And to find Nuju; he's been missing meetings lately."

Vakama nodded. So it wasn't just him who noticed.

"So this is what Matoro looked like as a Toa, huh?" Onewa said, looking up at it. "Not how I remember him at all."

"Me neither," Whenua agreed. "It's like not seeing someone for years...only to find they've changed so much."

"Except Matoro wasn't gone for years," Vakama said. "He was only gone for a few weeks..."

Excited chattering reached their ears, letting them know that Matau was drawing near. "Now, I know you can understand-hear me even if I can't understand-hear you," he was saying, "so listen good-well! You need to show up to the Turaga-meetings more often!"

Vakama and Whenua raised their mask ridges at each other. They could guess who Matau was talking to. "Looks like we're not the only ones who noticed," Vakama said.

A shrill whistle served as Nuju's response. "Stop that!" Matau snapped as they came into the square where the statue was. "You know I—" He looked up and noticed where they were. "Oh, hey, we're here! And look! There are the other Turaga!"

Nuju glared at them all and turned to go, but a green hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Come on, ice-brother! We're just worried about you!" Reluctantly, Nuju followed Matau to the statue, glaring the entire time.

Matau whistled. "Wouldja look at that. Big statue, huh?" Nuju nodded silently, eyes fixed on the ground.

"Nuju, you...you're not sick or anything, are you?" Nokama asked. Looking up, Nuju shook his head. "Why haven't you been at meetings, then?" At this, Nuju folded his arms and looked away.

"May I make a guess?" Vakama asked quietly. Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "Is it because Matoro's not there to translate for you? I realise it would be more difficult to communicate without him, but—"

_"That's not it,"_ Nuju snapped. _"It's...I...I don't have to tell you anything."_

Onewa looked back up at Matoro's statue, and something clicked into place. "It's because you don't have Matoro, right? Not because he can't translate for you, it's just you've been with him for so long that it doesn't feel right without him." He paused, studying Nuju's downturned mask. "Am I right?" he asked quietly.

A barely perceptible nod was Nuju's only response. A brief smirk of triumph flitted across Onewa's mask before it settled back into 'serious mode.' "Nuju, come over here."

Nuju said a very bad word. Nokama guessed at the meaning and shot him a glare, grabbing his arm and practically dragging him to directly in front of the statue, next to Onewa. Onewa nodded in thanks at her, then slung an arm around Nuju's shoulders. "See, we were just talking about Matoro," he said, gesturing at the statue in front of them. "You know, like how we remember him. And guess what? I don't think I can remember a time when I saw him that you weren't in the direct vicinity. Fancy that, huh?"

Vakama wondered where this was going. It certainly didn't seem to be helping. If Nuju had still had his ice powers, the Turaga may have found their number reduced by at least one, if the way he was glaring at Onewa was any indication. But Onewa ignored that and continued on. "And I personally think that's how he'd want to be remembered. You know? As your aide and friend. And, by extension, our friend too." He glanced back at Vakama, who nodded with a small smile. Now he could see the direction this conversation (such as it was) was going in. "Y'see, Matoro spent most of his time with you, it's true. But he spent a lot of time with the rest of us, too. You spent a lot of time with us—however grudgingly." At that, Nuju's mouth twitched upwards slightly. "I saw that. Anyway, because Matoro was always with you, he was around us a lot too. And I think we got to know him fairly well. He was a good kid. Shy, somewhat naive, and way too quiet unless you had something to say, but a good kid anyway."

Matau laughed. "Remember that one time he refused to translate what you said because he didn't want to insult Onewa? Ah, good times."

Onewa shot him a glare, but a small chuckle managed to escape Nuju. Picking up on that, Whenua added, "Or the time he fell asleep at the meeting because you weren't saying anything?"

_"It was late at night,"_ Nuju said quietly. _"He was so tired from kolhii practise earlier..."_

Vakama wrapped an arm around Nuju's shoulders from the other side. "I know you miss him," he said gently. "We miss him, too. But you'll always have fond memories of him, right? Something exists as long as there's someone around who remembers it. You can be that person, Nuju...and we will be, too."

Nuju fixed his eyes on the statue Matoro's, and if Vakama hadn't known better, he would've sworn that there were tears in them. _"Yes,"_ he whispered. _"I...thank you. All of you."_ He cast a glance back at Matau and Whenua. _"Even you two."_

_They're right,_ he thought, keeping his eyes steadily trained on Matoro. _Even if everyone else forgets...we won't._


	12. Pewku: Waiting for the Sun

**D: I really need to log on here more often. Seriously.  
And soooooo we have the second-last Visitors oneshot. I can't believe it's finally almost done...I started it on a whim and it sort of evolved!  
This was requested by HeartofZero, but the 'story' came from mazula because she's amazing like that. :) Thanks mazu!  
I think of Pewku as a dog...loyal and caring, but a bit of a ditz. (Most of the dogs I've ever known are like that.) Hence her characterization. Also, it's spelled Puku for a while because that's how it was spelled before the Maori lawsuit thing. Canonically, Takua changed her name, so before that it would have, technically, been Puku.  
Thanks for reading, and please review! Constructive criticism is always highly appreciated.  
*Bionicle belongs to LEGO, and the song "Waiting for the Sun" belongs to Chantal Kreviazuk.***

* * *

_I don't need to be forgiven  
__And I don't want your sympathy  
__It's a mad, mad world  
__But it's still turning..._

* * *

Pewku-Waiting for the Sun

Tehutti stomped into the shop, slamming the door behind him. Hearing such a loud noise in quiet Ko-Metru brought the shopkeeper running in from the back.

"Hello and welcome to Matoro's Rahi how can I help—waah!" Matoro tripped over a stray harness and fell to the floor. Springing up again, he finished his welcome speech. "How can I help you?" Then he recognised the customer. "Oh, hi, Tehutti. Is something wrong?"

Tehutti tugged on the makeshift leash he'd tied around an Ussal crab's neck. "This Ussal is driving us crazy! She won't do anything we tell her to, she keeps knocking things over, and she just...gah!" He threw his hands in the air, exasperated. "You take her," he said, thrusting his end of the leash at Matoro.

Matoro's eyes widened and he frantically shook his head, waving his hands in front of him as if to ward off the idea. "N-no way! I know I'm friendlier with the Onu-Matoran than most Ko-Matoran, but you can't just send a misbehaving Ussal crab packing just because of a couple of incidents."

"It's been more than a couple. At last count, it was sixty-five and rising."

Matoro sighed. "Tehutti, I'm sure she's a good crab—"

"She's very friendly, but I don't think the Archives are for her. I just want you to find a more suitable home for her."

Matoro looked down at the crab, who looked up at him expectantly. Her tongue hung out of her mouth and she looked like the most innocent and oblivious thing in the world. Which, incidentally, was the problem: she was _too_ innocent and oblivious. Who would take in such a Rahi?

But Matoro was never one to turn away a friend in need or an animal looking for a home. With another sigh, he held out his hand. "What's her name?"

"We've been calling her Puku," Tehutti replied, visibly relaxing as he handed the leash over. "Thanks for this, Matoro. I owe you one."

With a grudging smile, Matoro started to lead Puku towards the back of the store. "No problem. Always happy to help..."

* * *

"Hello! Welcome to Matoro's Rahi! How can I—ack, Puku, no!"

Orkham yelped in surprise as a blue Ussal crab came charging out of the back and rammed into him, squeaking with excitement. "I'm so sorry!" Matoro said, grabbing Puku's harness and dragging her back. "No, Puku, bad!" She'd been doing this for a couple of months now—she seemed really desperate for a home. "Sorry, Orkham," Matoro apologised again. "Can I help you with anything?"

Orkham was looking thoughtfully at Puku. "She certainly is full of spirit-energy," he finally said. He rubbed his stomach where she'd run into him. "And strength-speed. What's her name?"

"Puku," Matoro replied, grinning sheepishly. Then his jaw dropped at Orkham's next question.

"Is she for sale?"

* * *

Puku rubbed her head against Matoro's side, whining. He patted her head. "I know, I know, girl, but you couldn't stay with me forever! Besides, Orkham's one of the best riders in Le-Metru, and he always treats his crabs well. You'll be taken care of here. And I'll come visit, okay?"

If he hadn't known better, he could've sworn the crab was pouting as he handed her leash over to Orkham. "Have fun, and be good!" he called as he walked away.

* * *

Where was Orkham?

Puku was wandering around Le-Metru, lost and confused. She couldn't find Orkham anywhere! Le-Metru was big and confusing, especially with all these webs everywhere. Maybe she should try to find Matoro. He'd know what to do! Of course! Because Matoro knew everything!

She turned around to go find him and walked straight into a pair of long, black armoured legs. Looking up, she saw they belonged to a huge monster.

Puku did what any sensible crab would do. She turned and ran for her life.

Unfortunately, her legs were short and its legs were long, and it caught up with her quite easily, pinning her down with little effort. "Easy, there," its deep voice rumbled. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She squeaked and tried to scramble away, but the monster was too strong. She wanted Orkham! She wanted Matoro! Karzahni, at this point she wanted Tehutti! Then the voice spoke again.

"Wait, you're Puku, aren't you?"

At the mention of her name, she stopped trying to flee and looked cautiously up at the being who was holding her captive. It was looking at her curiously. "Yeah, you're Puku! The crab who used to work in the Archives that annoyed Tehutti all the time! I always wondered where you ran off to."

There was a cough from behind them, and a shrivelled old being with the face of a Rahkshi stepped into view. "Whenua, I hate to break up such a touching reunion, but shouldn't we get, ah, 'Puku' to a safe place?"

Puku frowned, confused. Her memory for masks wasn't great, but she remembered Whenua being a lot shorter and less scary-looking when she worked in the Archives. Well, if it really was Whenua, she supposed she could trust him...

* * *

Nuparu noticed his new racing crab, Puku, staring in the direction of the Onu-Koro-Le-Koro Highway. If he hadn't known better, he'd have sworn she had a forlorn look on her face.

That was, in fact, the look on her face. Orkham hadn't recognised her when she'd gone to him. Why was that? She'd been his favourite crab for years! How could he not know who she was? And it wasn't like she could stay with him in his new home—he lived in a tree now, and Ussals couldn't live in trees.

"Hello, Nuparu."

Puku spun around at a familiar voice talking to her new master. Sure enough, there was the small white Matoran entering the Ussal pen. She squeaked happily and bounded towards him. Surely Matoro would remember her!

"Augh!" Puku tackled Matoro to the ground and started licking his face enthusiastically. "P-please, get off me!"

"Puku, stop that!" Nuparu chided, grabbing her harness and hauling her off Matoro. "Sorry, Matoro. She doesn't usually do that."

"That's all right," Matoro sighed, standing up and brushing himself off. "I like Rahi."

"What are you doing here, Matoro?"

"Oh, the usual—Turaga Nuju needs to talk to Turaga Whenua, so we've made the trek here. He's resting in Whenua's hut until his aide can find him."

The two Matoran launched into small talk, and Puku sadly went back to her pen. Even Matoro didn't remember her. It was just too weird...and it really hurt to be forgotten. Matoro had never encouraged her to be anyone other than herself, even if it meant she stayed in his store forever.

"Puku?"

She looked up to see Matoro with a thoughtful look on his mask. Nuparu was nodding. "That's what Turaga Whenua said her name was. Why?"

"The name sounds familiar..." Matoro muttered.

Puku perked up. Maybe Matoro would remember her after all!

* * *

But the years went by, and he never did. No one remembered her from their time on Metru Nui, which she supposed was just as well, since she had never been the hardest worker there. After she got too old for racing, she retired happily as a taxi crab until she was adopted by the Chronicler, Takua. Whenever she'd go to Le-Wahi or Ko-Wahi with him, she'd hope to run into Orkham or Matoro and that they'd remember her. But even if they did run into them, they never remembered her.

Well, at least Takua would never leave her, right?

* * *

Time passed, as time does, and Puku—now known as Pewku—travelled with the Matoran back to Metru Nui. But then her newest owner after Takua became Takanuva, Jaller, went missing! And not only that, but so did other Matoran—including Matoro! What was going on now?

Jaller looked different. He was taller. When Takua got taller, Pewku had been given away to Jaller. Did that mean Jaller was going to give her away, too?

She looked around at the other tall beings. There was Hahli, and Kongu, and Nuparu, and Hewkii...hey, where was Matoro?

Jaller was expressing a similar sentiment. Then Turaga Vakama approached. "I saw what happened in a vision," he said quietly. "Matoro sacrificed himself for the good of the universe."

Pewku thought her jaw would hit the floor. Matoro was dead? Her pet-shop-daddy had died? No, no, no! That couldn't be right! Matoro was too nice to die! He'd always been very sweet to her, even after she'd left his shop, even after he'd forgotten her like everyone else! Nice people don't die! Or at least they shouldn't! She looked up at Jaller, who seemed to notice her for the first time. She gave a slight whine and rubbed his leg with her head. He reached down and patted her.

"Matoro's gone, Pewku," he said quietly. "I know you didn't know him all that well, but he was a dear friend of mine."

Pewku wanted to say that she did know him very well—he'd sold her to Orkham when no one else wanted her! He appreciated who she was! But she couldn't say anything—she was a crab. So she just leaned into his touch and whined sadly again.

Days went by, and a statue of Matoro was erected in the middle of Ko-Koro. Puku noticed that her new owner, Kopeke, went to see it a lot, and one day she decided to follow him.

Standing next to Kopeke, she stared at the statue. _That_ was supposed to be Matoro? He was too tall! And he looked imposing, not gentle and patient! Hmph! Who carved _that_?

Pewku had always nursed an opinion that Matoran were, as a general rule, exceedingly silly, but this took the cake.

Kopeke looked down at her and flinched, like he'd just noticed she was there. Knowing Kopeke, that was probably true. "Pewku," he said. "What are you doing here?"

Pewku looked back up at the statue, then back at Kopeke. Kopeke understood, but said nothing. Pewku leaned into his side. From what she knew of Matoro on Mata Nui (which, admittedly, wasn't a lot), he and Kopeke had been close. Maybe that was why she was with Kopeke now—to help him over Matoro's death! That had to be it.

"Come on, Pewku," Kopeke said abruptly. "Let's go home."

Pewku faithfully trotted along behind him, looking back at the statue one last time. She would take good care of Kopeke. She made a promise on Matoro's statue to do that, and then Matoro would be pleased with her. Right?


	13. Finale: Bright Eyes

**Ha...ha...done...it's done...  
I apologise for how long it's taken to get, well, anything up, though if it's any consolation the only thing I've posted on deviantART lately is a random satirical piece about the internet. :/ Curse you, reality. Curse you.  
So yeah, here we have the end of Visitors. FINALLY. This is based on an idea given by InTheLight-Hija a while back. It's changed a lot (for which I apologise), but I still credit her since her original idea was what spawned this. It feels rushed to me, but that may just be me being nitpicky. (I have a tendancy to compare myself to professional authors and I'm still nowhere as good as my idol :( oh well.)  
As for the song...go listen to it. It could've been written for Matoro's death scene. Seriously.  
Also, Hafu. XD  
This is the end of Visitors, so thank you to all of you who reviewed this or added it to their favourites or watch, especially InTheLight-Hija and Mazula, who have been there since the beginning. :) Thanks guys.  
ONWARD TO GLORY!  
Bionicle belongs to LEGO, and the song "Bright Eyes" belongs to Art Garfunkel because he's awesome.**

* * *

_Bright eyes, burning like fire  
__Bright eyes, how can you close and fail?  
__How can the light that burned so brightly  
__Suddenly burn so pale?  
__Bright eyes_

* * *

Finale: Bright Eyes

Kopeke surveyed his new home. It was far too warm here. Not for the first time, he missed Ko-Koro. It was cold there, and quiet, and perfectly suited to his tastes. This 'Spherus Magna'...even if this was where the Matoran belonged, he still felt out of place.

To make matters worse, Matoro's statue was gone. When Makuta's head was destroyed, Metru Nui was damaged beyond repair, along with much on the island. This included the new Wall of History, the Coliseum, and, most importantly in Kopeke's opinion, Matoro's memorial statue.

It wasn't as though he could simply recarve it, either. Though no longer desert conditions, the climate they currently lived in was too warm for an ice sculpture year-round. It tugged at Kopeke's heartlight, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

Or was there?

An idea started to form in Kopeke's mind. Absurd as it was, Kopeke decided to give it a shot. He would need some help, though. The Chronicler whistled for his Ussal, Pewku, who came running. He climbed on and they headed off in search of their first assistant.

_After all,_ Kopeke thought, _what is there to lose?_

* * *

Ehrye was exploring his new home when Kopeke found him. "What do you want?" Ehrye asked gruffly.

Kopeke slid off Pewku's back and kept his eyes trained firmly on the ground. He hated asking people he didn't like for help... "I need some help," he finally replied quietly.

The ridges on Ehrye's mask shot up in surprise. "You want my help?" _The world's gone topsy-turvy,_ he thought.

Kopeke nodded, then explained his plan. Ehrye looked impressed. "Okay, but where do I fit in?"

"I need you to deliver a message to Toa Jaller. I have other errands to run, and I will not have time to make my request in person."

"Fine, fine. What's the message?"

Kopeke told him, and Ehrye nodded. "Fine, I'll ask him. But why me?"

"You are a messenger," Kopeke stated. "It is your job." He turned and re-mounted Pewku. As he was about to leave a scowling Ehrye, he added, "Also...Matoro would not have wanted quarrelling between us." Then he was gone.

Ehrye stared after him, then shook his head and went in search of Jaller. Sometimes he wished Matoro was still around, if only so that someone could understand what was going on in Kopeke's head.

* * *

Even though it was no longer necessary, most Matoran grouped themselves together by element. It was mostly out of habit, but it meant that finding Hafu amongst all his fellow Po-Matoran was more difficult than Kopeke had originally thought.

Finally, he found him at the far end of the new Po-Koro, the small bit of desert left behind when Mata Nui and the Ignika restored Bara Magna to its original state. He was working on making a new kolhii field—Po-Matoran did love their sports, after all.

Hafu grinned at the approaching Chronicler. "Can you tell what it is yet?" he asked cheekily.

"A kolhii field," Kopeke replied, dismounting from Pewku. "I need some help."

Hafu's grin widened. "Sure! What do you need?"

Kopeke chose his words carefully. "You have carved almost every type of material in existence, correct?"

The artist puffed out his chest. "Well, I don't like to brag, but yeah. Limestone, granite, soapstone, pumice, and of course protodermis, to name a few. I've even tried my hand at ice carving a couple times. You're still the pro at that, though." Kopeke gave a tiny smile at the compliment. "Why do you ask?"

The Ko-Matoran took a breath. "How much do you know about carving glass?"

* * *

"Glass?"

Toa Jaller gave Ehrye a confused look. "What does Kopeke want glass for?"

"To make an ice carving," Ehrye replied, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Jaller couldn't help but point out one tiny detail. "Shouldn't he be using ice, then?"

"That would melt in this heat." There was an unspoken 'duh' hanging off the end of that sentence, like at the end of many sentences spoken by Ko-Matoran.

Jaller rubbed his temples. "Okay, fine, I'll make him some glass. Later. I'm on guard duty for the next few hours."

"Oh, come on! It'll take ten minutes! Can't you get someone to cover for you?"

"Rrg. Okay, fine." He spotted Takanuva passing by. "Hey! Taka! Can you cover me for a couple minutes?"

Takanuva made disapproving clicking noises as he approached. "Shirking on the job, Jaller? And here I thought you were the responsible one!"

"I really don't need this from you," Jaller snapped. He was getting a headache and it was making him grumpy. "Just stand here, okay?"

Takanuva grinned and waved as they ran off. "Have fun!"

* * *

Mata Nui was vaguely aware of what was going on around him—or more specifically, around the Mask of Life—as he slept. For example, he knew that he was placed on some kind of shrine. He knew that Kiina visited often, as did many different Matoran. Today, however, a Turaga of Ice named Nuju had apparently decided to pay him a visit. The Turaga was staring intently at the mask, his bright blue eyes as cold and hard as the element he had once controlled. This intrigued the former Great Spirit, since most beings that came to him were either friends who missed him or people in awe. Nuju looked like he wanted to use his staff for something other than walking assistance.

Nuju did, in fact, want to hit something with his staff. This mask, and the being within it, had forced him to leave his home, twice, and lose the one being closest to him—his translator, Matoro. He would never be able to see that Matoran again, never be able to take care of him again, never teach him legends about the stars, never, never, never...

He knew he should have been able to find solace in the fact that Matoro had died for a cause that he believed in, and in doing so, saved the lives of every living being within Mata Nui's shell. And for a time, he had taken comfort in that. But now here, faced with that which had caused Matoro's death, however inadvertently, he found himself shaking with rage and unshed tears.

Whirling, he stalked out of the sanctuary, silently willing himself not to cry.

* * *

"Kopeke said he'd be here looking for Hafu," Ehrye said, looking around, "but I don't see him."

Jaller looked across the sea of Po-Matoran, finally spotting a flash of white near the kolhii field. "There," he said, pointing. Ehrye scurried off in that direction, with Jaller and his added bulk having a harder time wading through the crowd. Finally, they reached the duo. Hafu was explaining something to Kopeke, who was listening intently for once.

"—And volcanic glass is harder to deal with than regular glass, but I don't think we need to worry about that for this, unless you need some for decoration." Kopeke shook his head. "Good, because I don't think we can get any on this short of notice—oh, hello Toa Jaller."

Kopeke stood up and looked at Jaller. "Well?" he asked.

Jaller scowled. He'd never been Kopeke's biggest fan—or a fan of many Ko-Matoran, to be honest. He was only doing this because he had a hunch as to what the carver was up to, if he wanted to make a sculpture that would never melt. "I'll make you your glass, but you've got to keep it a secret that I left my post, okay?"

Kopeke nodded and remained silent as the three of them watched Jaller fuse sand with heat to create a large pillar of glass. "Is that enough?" he asked.

The carver nodded again and Jaller turned to go. He was stopped by a hand tugging at his. He looked down to see Kopeke had grabbed his hand and was staring at the ground. "Thank you," he said, not daring to raise his head. This was embarrassing_._ To have to require help from so many people—!

Jaller put a hand on Kopeke's head, patting it a little. "Don't worry about it," he said gruffly. "Now I really should get back to my post before Turaga Vakama has a coronary." He jogged off in the direction of the new Ta-Koro.

Ehrye and Hafu looked at Kopeke. "Well?" Hafu said. "Now what?"

For the first time in a long while, a smile crossed Kopeke's mask. "We get to work."

* * *

"Turaga, I wish to speak with you."

Nuju looked up from his tablet. He was reading about the stars of Spherus Magna, trying to learn them as quickly as possible. He needed something familiar in this new place, and stargazing was the closest he would get, it seemed. Standing in his doorway was the familiar figure of Kopaka Nuva, adaptive armour and all. Nuju gave him a nod, then put away his tablet and gestured to a chair. Kopaka took it.

Neither spoke for a while. If Nuju hadn't known better, he would have sworn that Kopaka looked almost uncomfortable. That was very much not like him. _"Well?"_ he asked. It came out as a shrill click, of course, but it seemed to get the message across.

"I...was wondering if you were adjusting properly to your new surroundings," Kopaka said, choosing his words carefully. "The climate is not one that you are accustomed to, and the Ko-Matoran cannot risk their leader falling ill."

Nuju patted Kopaka's hand. _"Thanks for the worry, but I am fine,"_ he replied.

Kopaka remained silent, but whether that was because he hadn't understood Nuju or because he didn't have anything else to say Nuju didn't know. Finally he spoke again. "Also, the shock of everything that has happened over the past few months—"

Nuju's eyes hardened. He didn't want to think about that. Kopaka either didn't notice or didn't care, and he ploughed on. "Being in a new place without him must be—"

_"Shut up!"_ Nuju roared, striking Kopaka across the face with his staff. Kopaka cringed, but there was little force behind the attack. _"I don't want to talk about it," _he snapped. _"If all you came here to do is get me angry, you've succeeded. Now get out."_

"Turaga, I did not come here to mock you. I want to make sure you are coping alright."

_"I'm __fine__, damn you."_

"I'm assuming there was a swear word in there. Turaga, I know about your visit to the Mask of Life earlier today." Nuju stiffened. "I thought so. No matter how much you try, you can't not think about Mato—"

_"Shut up!"_

"Matoro."

Nuju fell silent, glaring steadfastly at Kopaka, who sighed. "Turaga, against all evidence to the contrary, I do care about you and your well being. I miss Matoro as well, and I am not ashamed to admit it." He looked steadily at his elder. "Yet you were much closer to him than I, and you refuse to. Why?"

Nuju refused to reply. What was there to say? He didn't deny missing Matoro. That wasn't the problem. It was the fact that the pain had refused to subside at all, even after he'd left behind everything that could possibly cause painful memories. It was the fact that no matter how much he said he missed Matoro, there was no way for his translator, his friend—dammit all, his son to come back. So what was the point?

There was a knock at the door. "Nuju?" It was Vakama. "Can we talk to you for a moment?"

Nuju didn't like the use of the word 'we,' but he pushed past Kopaka and opened the door anyway. All five of the other Turaga were standing there, Vakama in the lead. "There's something I think you should see," he said.

* * *

A crowd had started to gather. Kopeke glared at them, but otherwise said nothing. He was unused to so many eyes on him as he worked. Hafu, of course, was revelling in it, and Ehrye was ignoring them, focussing mostly on getting Hafu to stop posing and actually do his share of the work.

"What's going on here?"

The three Matoran stopped what they were doing, turning to see the six Turaga and Kopaka coming towards them. A passing Kiina joined them as well. Nuju was staring at their handiwork like he'd seen a ghost—though he supposed that he had, sort of.

Kopeke hopped off the statue and stood back to look over their handiwork. Hafu joined him. "Not bad, for your first time working with something besides ice," he said with a grin. "You too, Ehrye," he called to the other Ko-Matoran, who was trying to figure out how to get down from the very top of the statue.

It was a perfect likeness of Matoro as a Matoran, complete with one of the small flags he used while hunting on Mata Nui strapped to his back. He was holding the Mask of Life in his hands, his mask the picture of determination. The base read "Matoro—Toa, Hero, Friend."

Kiina leaned over to Kopaka. "Who's that?"

Kopaka's mouth twitched upwards in an almost-smile. "One of the great heroes from our homeland."

"Huh." Kiina looked back at the statue. "Wait, isn't he holding—"

"Yes."

"Wow."

Nuju stepped forward. Kopeke bowed his head, partially in respect, partially in shame. "I apologise for not asking first, Turaga—"

The Turaga silenced him by holding up a hand. _"No, Kopeke. Thank you. I...thank you."_ He looked at the others. _"You two as well. This is certainly what our new home was missing."_

Even if they weren't sure what he was actually saying, most of the crowd understood the sentiment. One Matoran started clapping, then more and more, until the entire crowd was applauding. Kopeke wanted to die of embarrassment right there, but Hafu wrapped an arm around his shoulders and grinned. "Not bad, kid. Not bad at all."

* * *

Time passed, as time does, and eventually the time came for another of their number to depart for the next world.

Kopaka sat outside the hut, his face buried in his hands. Pohatu sat next to him, trying to comfort him as best he could. Nokama, Matau, and Onewa stood on one side of the bed, with Vakama and Whenua on the other. Nuju looked up at them all with a smile. _"The Toa Metru,"_ he muttered. _"Reunited."_

"Don't go," Nokama said quietly, even though she knew he had no choice.

Whenua started to joke that he'd have no one to argue with, but he was having trouble speaking.

Matau swiped his hand across his eyes. "I'm not crying," he said stubbornly. Onewa elbowed him, but Nuju just smiled.

Vakama leaned close and whispered something to Nuju, who nodded. _"I will,"_ he replied quietly.

"We won't forget you," Nokama promised. "There will never be a better Turaga of Ice."

_"I'm going to...hold you to that..."_

His eyes slid shut. When he opened them again, he saw a Ko-Matoran coming towards him. "Hello, Turaga," Matoro said.

There was a pause. _"Vakama says to say hello,"_ Nuju said. Then he grabbed his translator in an armour-crushing hug. _"I missed you," _he whispered.

"I missed you too," Matoro replied, willing himself not to cry. They separated, and Matoro offered his hand. "Come on," he said. "Turaga Lhikan wants to see you too."

Nuju took it, and they walked off together.


End file.
